Pax Romana/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are making a model of an ancient Roman city. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, what do I need to know about the Pax Romana? From, Bella. Well, the Pax Romana, the period of Roman Peace, lasted for about two hundred years. During that time, a lot happened, and the Roman Empire really flourished. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, we can go over some of the important points. A bullet list appears. Its topics are: government, law, engineering, and language & literature. TIM: When Augustus Caesar took power, he created a bureaucracy. He hired citizens to carry out the work of enforcing laws and government programs. An image shows Augustus Caesar delegating authority to a citizen. TIM: The Roman Empire covered a lot of territory. Bureaucracy made the government more efficient at ruling this vast empire. As Roman soldiers conquered provinces in western Asia, northern Africa, and northwestern Europe, Roman officials and soldiers stayed in the territories they conquered. An animated map shows the spread of the Roman Empire and its officials and soldiers from its beginnings in Italy to the areas Tim describes. TIM: They spread the Roman system of representative government to these new territories. Nowadays, Roman government is at the basis of governments all over the world. Part of the reason that the Roman government worked so well is that it included an extensive system of laws to control how individuals treated one another and the state. Bulleted text reads: law. TIM: Lawyers tried to interpret the laws in court, just like they do today. An image shows the exterior of a Roman courthouse. TIM: Romans sued each other a lot. Bulleted text reads: engineering. TIM: Romans were known as the Great Builders. Emperors built hundreds of public works, like roads, bridges, and monuments, during the Pax Romana. Images show a paved road, a large bridge, and a tall monument with a human figure at its top. TIM: The Colosseum, finished in 80 C.E., was where gladiatorial games took place. An image shows the Colosseum in its prime. TIM: To keep citizens entertained, emperors arranged huge spectacles called circuses in the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. But they weren't circuses like we have, with clowns and acrobats. They included chariot races and bloody fights between gladiators, specially trained slaves who fought each other, and sometimes animals, to the death. An image shows two gladiators battling each other. One holds a spear and a large net. The other holds a sword and a shield. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it's a little gross. The Romans also built sturdy roads and strong bridges, some of which are still standing today. Moby stands atop an enormous three-layered Roman bridge. He is jumping and waving his hands in the air. TIM: Romans spoke and wrote in Latin. Bulleted text reads: language & literature. TIM: Latin spread all over the Roman Empire, and it became the basis for all the Romance languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Poets', playwrights', and philosophers' writings told of the greatness of Rome. An animation shows a hand, writing on a parchment with a quill pen. TIM: Emperors commissioned works that said it was Rome's destiny to rule the world. An animated map shows the Roman Empire consuming all of Europe and spreading well into Asia and Africa. A peace sign represents the Pax Romana. TIM: But the Pax Romana couldn't last forever. By the time Marcus Aurelius became emperor in 161 C.E., Rome had gotten so big that it was difficult for one person to govern. An image shows Marcus Aurelius. TIM: Germanic tribes from Northern Europe were starting to attack the northern boundary of the Roman Empire. The Pax Romana is considered by most to have ended when Marcus Aurelius died, in 180. Moby smashes one of the buildings in the model city he and Tim are putting together. TIM: Hey! MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, I, I think the fall of Rome will have to wait for another movie. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts